Even a spin and trip through the gravel couldn’t slow down Helio Castroneves.
The Team Penske driver bettered his best lap time by more than a half-second in the final session to top the two-day IZOD IndyCar Series Open Test on the 2.38-mile, 17-turn Barber Motorsports Park course.
Castroneves’ best lap (his 48th of 52) of 1 minute, 11.943 seconds in the No. 3 Team Penske car was the quickest of the 24 cars to participate in the lone Open Test before the season-opening Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg next week.
Will Power, who led Day 1 of the test, was second-quickest with a lap of 1:11.9636 in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car during the first of the day’s two practice sessions. Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe and Newman/Haas Racing’s Oriol Servia rounded out the top five.
The IZOD IndyCar Series will open the 2011 season on March 27 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., for the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The series returns to Barber Motorsports Park for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on April 11.
DAY 2 NOTEBOOK:
Mike Conway’s test came to an early end when his No. 27 Andretti Autosport car made contact with the tire barriers early in the morning session.
Conway, whose team had been practicing live pit stops, lost control of his car after the team put on a new set of tires to begin its test day.
“The car handled a little differently than it did yesterday, and it just caught me out,” Conway said. “I got on the grass coming out of (Turn) 15 and it was so wet, it took me straight into the barrier. It’s a shame, but fortunately, it’s just a test day.”
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Reigning IZOD IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti made two requests of George Barber, whose vision for a world-class motorsports facility has been realized in his hometown, during a preview for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.
“I asked him if the curbs could stand out more when they paint them—red and white as opposed to gray and white,” he said. “I also told him I wouldn’t mind borrowing the guy who cuts his grass because he does a hell of a job. If my wife sees what he’s doing here, planting trees and stuff, it will be very expensive for me. It’s a pretty special place.”
The IZOD IndyCar Series, which concluded its two-day Open Test at the park-like facility, returns April 8-10 for the race weekend that will blossom into the biggest event in the state, according to Gene Hallman, president of ZOOM Motorsports (the exclusive event promoter for Barber Motorsports Park).
Already, the contract for the event has been extended one year through 2013.
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